1. Field
One embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic equipment which has an input device with a plurality of keys arranged on a metal plate and enables wireless communication, and more particularly, to the layout of an antenna at a position closer to arranged keys rather than to the metal plate of the input device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a wireless LAN has penetrated the market as the form of a network to replace a related-art wired LAN in a network environment such as an office. In addition to the wireless LAN, an increasing number of pieces of equipment transmit and receive data through wireless communication in place of the connection between pieces of equipment using a related-art wire. When such an antenna for wireless communication purpose is laid out, placing the antenna at a highest-possible location is desirable, in view of enhancement of sensitivity to transmission and receipt of a signal.
However, portable compact electronic equipment, such as a notebook personal computer and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), has limited space for laying out an antenna. A layout method for forming an antenna in an overlapping manner at a position below a keyboard unit has been conceived (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application (KOKAI) No. 2001-22904 (pg. 2, and FIG. 1)).
However, in a related-art device, an antenna is formed at a position where the antenna overlaps the keyboard unit. Consequently, when a plurality of antennas are laid out, difficulty is raised in communication, because the plurality of antennas overlap each other, or there is no alternative but to lay out the plurality of antennas while some distance is provided among the antennas, which may in turn pose difficulty in attaining thickness reduction of the electronic equipment. In addition, there is a risk of a limitation being imposed on the number of antennas to be laid out.
The present invention has been conceived in view of the circumstance and aims at providing electronic equipment which enables laying out of antennas in a keyboard unit having a plurality of keys without involvement of an additional space dedicated to laying out the antenna.